Tamar Abramson
Nation BuildingNation building is a flawed art, a method that greatly fails. According to Paul Collier, Professor of Economics at Oxford University, “40 percent of all post-conflict situations, historically, have reverted back to conflict within a decade. In fact they’ve accounted for half of all civil wars.”[1] Although there are many reasons as to why nation building fails so often, the focus is what can be done to increase its success rate? What nation building needs in order to work successfully can be said it one word, organization. Organization is the key to the process of nation building and without it, the venture is sure to end up in failure.

Before engaging in nation building in a country in a post-conflict situation, the nation-builder must have clear goals set in a stable plan. Nation building, as we know it, is largely a failure. People just don’t seem to be aware of “how infrequently post-conflict nation-building has succeeded”[2] and that more often than not it has failed at creating stable societies, and instead reverted to conflict. A reason why nation building has failed so often is simply that the nation builder does not have a central plan. As stated by John Montgomery and Dennis Rondinelli in their article, The Proverbs of Nation Building, nation builders are far more likely to achieve their social and political purposes if they recognize their long-term goals in official statements “rather than lurking in the obscurity of a hidden agenda”.[3] This concept can be seen in numerous cases of nation building, such as Somalia: The United Nations and United States entered Somalia unprepared and as a result, “what began as a humanitarian mission to feed people starved by rival warlords became a misguided attempt at ad hoc nation building”.[4] Having a plan means that the nation builders know what they’re doing; unfortunately this is rarely the case. Interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq prove “how haphazard and unfocused nation building is in practice.”[5] In both these cases, there was no central and principled plan for establishing some form of a democratic government. In fact, when invading Afghanistan, the Bush administration did not even think of political arrangements following a military defeat over the Taliban. This poor planning continued in the US invasion of Iraq, and as a result both Iraq and Afghanistan remain unstable. Lieutenant General William Wallace fittingly called this method of nation building the “We’re making this up here as we go along” technique.[6] In contrast, when nation builders entered East Timor they followed a plan, and were not “dragged into a situation [they] could not control.”[7] Thanks to this plan, nation building in East Timor has resulted in a democratically elected government, increased employment and a transformation of former guerillas to soldiers in their country’s defense system. The results are not perfect. Marina Ottaway asserts that, “East Timor is still a construction site, but it is not a quagmire.”[8] As shown through the examples above, one aspect of successful nation building heavily relies on the nation builder being prepared before engaging in a post-conflict country. A plan often means the difference between certain failure and a chance of establishing a successful nation.

Another aspect of the need for organization centers around following a give order in tackling this task. For nation building to work, democracy cannot be imposed on a country before security has been established. The conventional approach to nation building focuses largely on the political goal of creating a democratic state. However, this often collapses, simply because holding an election generally does not create a responsible government, but rather winners and losers. In the resulting, “zero-sum game”[9] the loser is never reconciled. This leads to bitterness, which eventually touches off violence. Because of this, security must be ensured first. Montgomery and...

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“To what extent do you consider foreign intervention the most significant barrier to peace between Arabs and Israelis across the period 1900-2000?”
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Prior to the 1900’s Palestine had been inhabited by both Arabs and Jews, who generally lived peacefully. From 1920 until 1948, Palestine was governed under British Mandate, the first major example of foreign intervention in the 20th Century. The McMahon Letter of 1915 and the Balfour Declaration of 1917 were key events affecting the situation. The McMahon Letter from Governor Henry McMahon to Arab Sharif Husayn of Mecca affirmed how Britain would “recognize and support the independence of the Arabs” on condition that Arab forces helped...

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There are many sides to the Arab- IsraeliConflict; each convinced that they are completely right. Blinded by opinions that were filled in their head when they were young. And for several years a continuous feud has grown between these two countries for many different reasons. Religious differences, land boundaries, and sacred lands have sparked many wars and multiple riots. When searching for information about the conflicts a problem arose a numerous amount of times. There was many biased information regarding these conflicts so discovering entirely true facts was an issue. So as writers we focused ourselves to make sure the information was true and not lenient to either side so you as a reader can fully understand the conflict.
The Arab-Israeliconflict is named after the political conflict and wars between the Arab league and Israel. The start of these conflicts began when Zionism and Arab nationalism grew. The Jewish people were in control of their land of Palestine until in the late 1800s a group in Europe decided to colonize this land. Known as Zionists, they represented an extremist minority of the Jewish population. Their...

...THE ARAB-ISRAELICONFLICT (DEFINITIONS)
(the) Arab Revolt: When the Palestinians began to be outnumbered, they reacted with violence again the British occupation. The British allowed the Jews to arm themselves and form groups such as the Hagana to keep this situation under control. This case caused more support for the Jews world-wide as they appeared easier to control and the Arabs were cast in a negative light due to the violence of their rebellion.
(the) Balfour Declaration: Arthur James Balfour became British Foreign Minister in 1926. His friendship with Chaim Weizmann, the Leader of Zionism after 1904, meant that the Zionists had formed a connection to the British government. Balfour persuaded the Cabinet to support Zionism, with the idea that it would help Britain to win the war by getting the USA to join it due to the large Jewish population. The Declaration was a letter from Arthur James Balfour to a British Jew, Lord Rothschild, which spoke of the need for a Jewish national home in Palestine.
Bombing of the King David Hotel: The militant right-wing Zionist underground organization Irgun carried out an attack on 22 July 1946 against the British administrative headquarters for Palestine, in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. 91 people of various nationalities were killed and 46 were injured.
Chaim Weizmann: A Russian-born Jew living in Britain who became the Leader of Zionism after Theodor...

...The shared language, religion and culture amongst the majority of Arab civilians in the Middle East, have been known to deliver the feeling of patriotism and chauvinism for Arabs all around the world. Arab citizens have supported each other throughout conflicts with the west in the twentieth century and are united under a single ideology. “We swear to God that we shall not rest until we restore Arab nationalism to Palestine and Palestine to the Arab nation. There is no room for imperialism and there is no room for Britain in our country, just as there is no room for Israel within the Arab nations”. This speech made by Colonel Nasser in 1964 gives evidence to the strong anti-west essence and unity in the Middle East. There have been many influential figures that have had an impact on the political landscapes of the Middle East and the development of Arab Nationalism in this region. However, the significance of events and leaders in the Middle East during the twentieth century in developing political relationship is arguable, but for some the legacy and impact of Nasser holds particular significance. Historian Herman states “[Nasser’s] determination, the unconditional support he received from the U.S.S.R. his very ability to survive military blows and diplomatic threats fuelled the struggle for self-determination throughout the Arab world”. Whilst...

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Israel first became an independent state on 14 May 1948. While this landmark was the catalyst for the 1948 War of Independence, contention existed between the Arabs and Israelis long before this day. In 1917 the Balfour Declaration was issued by the British Mandate. This proclamation stated that the British Empire believed the Jewish people were entitled to a national home in Palestine although any civil rights of existing non-Jewish settlements would not be violated. This is believed to be the start of the Arab-Israeliconflict:
Arab nationalists and some historians now regard the Balfour Declaration as the root-cause of the Arab-Israeli...

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The Arab- IsraeliConflict
The Arab- IsraeliConflict is a conflict between the Arab and Jewish people in the Middle East over Israel and Palestine. This conflict has led to wars and millions of displaced people. This particular conflict has historical origins in the lives of the Arab and Jewish people. “The beginning of Zionism and the Arab-IsraeliConflict explain the basic principles of this complicated dispute”(Frankel 17).
During the course of history, different groups have invaded Israel and Palestine. The area is historically the homeland of the Jewish people who migrated to the area in the thirteenth century as Hebrew tribes. These Hebrew tribes are known as the Israelites who ruled for some time up to 6th Century B.C. The true conflict began around the turn of the 20th Century. The conflict mainly is a struggle over land. Until 1948, both the Arab and Jewish people claimed the land of Palestine.
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Presented to Dr. Rami Lakkis
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Arab-IsraeliConflict
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The realization of the full horrors of the genocide of the European Jews had led to growing demands for a Jewish state. British forces stood in the middle between Palestinian Arabs and Jewish settlers and immigrants, but a prolonged gang wars conflict and growing American pressure forced the British to abandon the area. Israel was established by compelling Arab acquiescence, but the consequence has been six decades of violence. The surrounding Arab states fought Israel unsuccessfully in 1948 and again in 1967 and 1973. In 1956 Israel found unlikely allies in Britain and France in the attempt to forcibly...

...﻿Evolution of ArabIsraeliConflict
The basic background of Israeli and Arabconflict is political tension and military conflict between certain Arab countries and Israel. The roots of the conflict is said to have begun in the rise of Zionism and Arab nationalism towards the end of the 19th century. Zionism is the Jewish national movement that defines the homeland in the territory in the land of Israel. It is based on historical ties and religious traditions linking the Jewish people to the land of Israel. This movement was created in the late 19th century by secular Jews, it was meant to be a response by Ashkenazi Jews to the rising anti-Semitism in Europe, exemplified by Dreyfus affair and anit-jewish programs in Russia.
This movement was said to be created by Austro-Hungarian Theodor Herzl, a journalist in 1897 following his publication of his book that goes by the name of Der Judenstaat. At the time the point of the movement was to encourage Jewish Migration to the ottoman Palestine. Zionism became the dominant force in Jewish politics which resulted in the destruction of Jewish life in central and Eastern Europe where everything began. The movement was not successful until May 14, 1948 when it established Israel as the homeland for the Jewish people. This is accounted for the majority of Jews living in Israel till this...